The horrific tragedy that claimed 26 lives in Newtown,Connecticut is incomprehensible for the millions of us whowatched the events unfold this past week. What has yet tounfold, however, is the inevitable onslaught of civil lawsuitsagainst various people and organizations that some may potentiallydeem culpable for the shooting spree that began at theLanza residence and ended at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

As we saw shortly after the Colorado movie theater massacre, a significant number of claimswere presented for personal injury, emotional distress, andwrongful death. Undoubtedly, similar claims will arise inthe wake of the school shootings in Connecticut. Whatmakes the cases more challenging is the location, in a government-funded school, where sovereign immunity potentially plays a partialrole in limiting damages.

The premise of the common law sovereign immunity doctrine isthat the king, or in the case of the United States, the government,cannot be sued without its consent. In Connecticut, there is aclaims commissioner to oversee this process, to the extent that thestate bears any responsibility.

Municipal Liability

Unlike the state, Connecticut municipalities have no sovereignimmunity from suit, but there are several limitations andexceptions to municipal liability. Likewise, municipalofficers also have immunity for discretionary actions while actingwithin the scope of their duties. However, there are exceptions forinstances such as forseeability that result ininjury.

In addition to the laws regarding liability and immunity for thestate and municipalities, Connecticut law requires local and stateboards of education to pay any claims against teachers resultingfrom injury, death, property damage, or deprivation of civil rightsoccurring in the course of the individual's duties, so long as theindividual's actions were not reckless, wanton, or malicious.

While Newtown, Conn. is described as a small, safe and quainttown tucked in the hills of affluent Fairfield, County, it is beingreported by CBS News that the district had recently instituted newsafety protocols designed to prevent the very type of tragedy thatoccurred this past Friday. What is not known,according to sources at CBS, is whether the protocols were beingfollowed. This could potentially give rise to a cause ofaction against the school district.

Lines of Defense

The investigation is ongoing. According to lawenforcement officials and various media outlets, it appears that alone gunman, Adam Lanza, avoided such protocols by shattering awindow and entering the school. The school's principalconfronted Lanza, who then gunned her down. This line ofdefense disabled, the school and its inhabitants thenbecame embroiled in a deadly rampage escalated by atroubled 20-year-old.

Arguably the first line of defense against suchan attack is refocusing our efforts on improving thenation's mental health services. Like those responsible forthe Gabby Gifford shooting and the 2007 VirginiaTech massacre, Adam Lanza reportedly suffered from asevere mental disorder.

According to Priscilla Dass-Brailsford, an associate professorof psychology in the psychiatry department at Georgetown UniversityMedical Center, our society waits for things like this to happen toshine a light on mental health, but we quickly forget. Perhaps this time, we shouldn't forget that there are many peoplesuffering from mental health disorders. By being proactive inthis regard, could we avoid future tragedies?

There are also calls to revisit the nation's gun laws, alreadynumbering in the tens of thousands. Complicating that argument isanother attack this past Friday, at a Chinese elementaryschool, during which a mentally disturbed person used a knife toinjure or kill 22 people, most of them children.

Be it with a gun, knife or other instrument of destruction, oursociety sees violent killings every day. As a nation, we havebecome overly desensitized to violence in general. Sadly, ithas gotten to the point where only high body counts, or somethingextraordinary, make the news.

Liability and Litigation

Back to the issue of liability, there will be plenty of blamespread around. Could the state have done more to identify thementally ill Adam Lanza, and proactively treated him for hisdisorders? Should the gun dealers be held accountable,despite the guns being registered to Adam Lanza's mother who heshot before taking her weapons? Could the schools havedone more to prevent the tragedy from occurring? Were therecounselors that Adam Lanza was seeing who may have had anindication of his potential for violence?

In the wake of the Colorado movie theater massacre, an uninjuredTorrance Brown sued Century Theaters, the doctors of JamesHolmes, the suspected killer, and Warner Brothers. He allegedthat the theater emergency door should have had an alarm, thedoctors should have seen the killer's violent tendencies and WarnerBrothers caused the mayhem by virtue of creating violent movies inthe past that gave Holmes destructive ideas.

Earlier this year, a jury awarded $4 million each to two families who suedVirginia Tech after the tragic 2007 massacre at thatschool. In suing the state, the families' lawyers had arguedat that the school should have notified the student body soonerafter learning that two students had been found dead earlier in theday in an on campus dormitory prior to Seung Hui Cho going on tokill 30 other people.

What is a certainty is that lawsuits will arise fromthe Connecticut shootings. Some will be justified,although the potential defendants may not. More than likely,the school district will be at the top of the list. But couldthe schools have done more? Do we want our schools to havearmed security on the premises? Do we want entrants to schoolsto be required to pass through metal detectors? Do we wantalarms on every window?

As the inevitable litigation comes forth, it creates aparticular challenge for those defending such actions where thesympathy factor will likely play a significant role inoutcomes. It will be extremely difficult to stand in front ofthe parents and relatives of victims to try and deny themcompensation. After all, how do you put a value on a child'slife? But at some point we have to stop trying to assignblame against those who go out of their way to educate our societyand start looking at society itself.

The tragedy that unfolded is truly unimaginable, in particularfor those of us who are parents. As our prayers go outto the victims' families, we must also come to the realization thatnobody is immune from random acts of violence, and we need to teachour children how to be ever more vigilant. As Americans weneed to reflect on the causes of the degradation of our society andbring ourselves together to fix the problems before it is toolate.

Christopher Tidball is an author, speaker and executiveclaims consultant. He is the author of multiple books,including “Blocking & Tackling: The Playbook for the WinningClaims Organization.” To learn more, visit www.christidball.com.